Submitted by Grace McKenna on the 2019 winter session study abroad program in Martinique sponsored by the Department of Languages, Literatures & Cultures…
This week, we had our mini-internships at various locations, and we hiked the volcano on the island, Mount Pelée. I don’t know which one was tougher. Everything, of course, was a lot of fun, but they had various challenges in their own ways. The first day of the internship, I arrived at the elementary school with the other eight students who were doing their internship at the school, and I was just overwhelmed and scared by all of the things that were going on. Children were stopping to stare at us, and teachers were asking us why we were there. It wasn’t until the headmistress came out that everybody knew what was going on.
We then picked classrooms to help in, and we were told we could group up. However, my roommate was taken from me to participate in the music class, because she has a really good singing voice. I don’t know if it was me, or if I just had the shyest group of third graders that have ever existed, but after she left, it was pretty quiet and uncomfortable in the class. When they finally warmed up to me, I had to leave for the day.
The second day, all the children wanted to do was braid my hair. We were surrounded by little girls everywhere, all of them asking in rapid French “comment t’appelle?” (what’s your name?) over and over again. I started thinking that these children don’t tell each other anything, because so many asked my name. Then I realized that it’s just because “Grace” is one of the hardest names to pronounce, in English or in French. Nobody names their child “Grace” in France, that’s a word that’s reserved for speaking about the Bible and God. So, it was just weird for them, and they didn’t know what to call me, until they all finally resorted to calling me “Grease”.
For the Mount Pelée hike, if I’m being entirely honest, I’m glad it was thunderstorming on the top of the mountain that day. I don’t think I could’ve made it that far, no matter how badly I wanted to. We hiked as far as we were allowed, to the point where we could see the crater at the top. It was foggy, windy, and rainier than anything I’d ever felt, so pictures were out of the question. My thighs, arms, back, feet, basically my whole body is sore. But at the end of the day, everything this past week has put me through, has been worth it. I wouldn’t want to learn about French children’s games in any other way, and I don’t think I would be pleased with myself if I had missed out on hiking a volcano. Throughout this whole program, I am learning about myself in ways I never could have imagined. I learned that I love hiking, no matter how hard it is, and that I love swimming in the clear blue waters. Working with children is an amazing experience, and I can’t wait to see what this final week has in store for me.